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I know that I have seen a H-game from a normal online shop for something around $100, which was apparently supposed to have been a rather usual price and I don't blame them. There surely aren't that many people playing these kinds of games, but the price on the auction as you said more correctly was "plain insane".

Someone must know that the game will be in very high demand since the patch was released. And I would like to buy it as well, but I can't imagine myself paying more than $60 for it...

However this makes me wonder as to how much do other H/B-games games cost on auction...

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"Light and shadow don't battle each other, because they're two sides of the same coin"

It's all about supply vs. demand. Most ero games (H-game isn't a correct term) you can buy pretty much everywhere, meaning in specialized stores that carry otaku and adult goods (they sell those even on Amazon), since they are commercial games. So their prices range from ￥5000~ to ￥9600~. Most of the old commercial ones (except for the classics) aren't even worth the purchase. But then you have the whole doujinshi "market" where any release is a limited release. Now, considering Tsukihime has a high demand, is a classic and was released in limited quantities, then you have to understand that the high price is actually quite right. It's the same with Higurashi no naku koro ni sound novels (the separate non-bundled releases).

Someone must know that the game will be in very high demand since the patch was released. And I would like to buy it as well, but I can't imagine myself paying more than $60 for it...

Like I mentioned earlier, the auction price has been at that level for years (ever since Tsukibako went out of print and Type-Moon made it big with Fate/stay night, to be exact).

A full fledged eroge nowadays is usually priced for ￥8,800 (before tax). That's simply the market standard that everyone settled on after taking production expenses and expected sales into consideration. If you lived in Japan, you can usually get these games for a cheaper price than the MSRP (a 8,800 yen game for about 6,500, for example) at various local specialized retailers. But for international sales, the MSRP price is usually what you'll have to settle with, if not higher.

There is also high demand for cheaper Ferrari cars that are produced in limited quantities, but their production numbers are staying low and their price tag is staying insanely high or rising. They have created their own elitist i.e. wealthy customer base and they wish to keep that certain ring to their name.

TYPE-MOON, on the other hand, or many other companies in the otaku industry, limits pressing of special releases. Those limited edition, first pressing releases are called so with a reason. Keeping rare things rare and elitist is the best fanservice any company can give. That's how companies keep the trust of their long term customers. They send out a message to them, saying "We haven't sold ourselves yet, even though we're popular and famous. You're valuable to us." In any case, it's a good investment for the future.

EA? Look at the NFS series (or any of their sports games in that matter) and you got a good example of milking. In a bad way (yes, I'm still not too happy with what they do after the Underground games). HOWEVER, these releases serve to be improvements though (also, NFS comes to the picture).

However, the english site isn't updated so I don't know the exact news. Meanwhile, here's an eye candy for ya

Spoiler:

Kataoka-san mentioned in the BBS earlier that he was preparing something for the Winter Comiket (since side 2nd wasn't going to be in time due to time constraint for the voice recordings). So this is it, a side 2nd Drama CD. The content is similar to that of a prologue to the game.

Kataoka-san mentioned in the BBS earlier that he was preparing something for the Winter Comiket (since side 2nd wasn't going to be in time due to time constraint for the voice recordings). So this is it, a side 2nd Drama CD. The content is similar to that of a prologue to the game.

Keeping rare things rare and elitist is the best fanservice any company can give. That's how companies keep the trust of their long term customers. They send out a message to them, saying "We haven't sold ourselves yet, even though we're popular and famous. You're valuable to us." In any case, it's a good investment for the future.

Fan service? The business model employed by these companies is quite well discussed. Basically, you create a sense of scarcity as incentive for the biggest fans to continually plunk down the money demanded for limited edition releases and special merchandise. Given how small the market is relative to other entertainment industries, companies rely on this to maximize their profits.

While I'm sure certain customers probably get some kind of warm and fuzzy feeling out of this, it's primarily intended as a crafty (and commonly referenced) business strategy. Even within the mainstream game industry, the same tactic has begun to be employed (starting with niche developers, but the big companies are now doing the same for select products) due to drastically decreasing sales.

Quote:

However, if it's in high demand, it would only be proper to print more copies of it. Type-Moon seems to like to create an elitist atmosphere.

It's impossible to say why Type-Moon hasn't reprinted Tsukihime. Given the group's transition from a doujin developer to a professional company, I'd guess that Tsukihime's presentation may not reflect how Type-Moon would like to be viewed as a studio today. After all, they've been toying with the idea of a Tsukihime remake for some time now.

IIRC some style of speech...Sushi-Y mentioned this before somewhere else (IIRC it is also this thing that propel Gotou Yuuko to 'stardom').

Ponkotsu can refer to two things:

1. A term originated from Nekoneko Soft's own "brand" of tennen boke (天然ボケ, naturally dopey?) characters (Hiyori and Nanami, for example), who are also somewhat absent minded and slow. In other words, slow and dopey (Nekoneko) heroine = ponkotsu.

2. The voice of the ponkotsu characters, voiced by Gotou Yuuko (all the Nekoneko ponkotsu characters were voiced by her for the consumer releases). That unique cute/squeaky voice became an instant hit, soon unofficially named by the fans as the "ponkotsu voice" (for example, the voice Gotou-san used for Mikuru was ponkotsu).

As a character, Sumika's tsundere-ness is top notch, I really enjoyed her personality.

The story, however, is a little... The concept was good, and even the conclusion was nicely done. But it felt as if every advancement in the plot existed simply to take the "physical love" with Sumika to the "next level" (sexually driven story? ), even though it's really the other way around.

On one hand, the serious Sumika during the day → ecchi Sumika at night gap is amusing (that is, moe), but on the other hand, the escalating foreplay scenes that continue throughout the story (until they finally "do it" late in the game) can be really distracting.

Then again, secretly ecchi tsundere Sumika = win?

Since she's kind of a pair with Sumika, Misaki will be next. Then I'll probably jump over to the home school camp, which garnered most of the praises from the players...

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minori uploaded an 8-second sample of the HD quality ef OP movie that is included in the "Tech Gian Super Prelude" book featuring ef - the first tale (released today), on their website.

2. The voice of the ponkotsu characters, voiced by Gotou Yuuko (all the Nekoneko ponkotsu characters were voiced by her for the consumer releases). That unique cute/squeaky voice became an instant hit, soon unofficially named by the fans as the "ponkotsu voice" (for example, the voice Gotou-san used for Mikuru was ponkotsu).

God, can't believe no one mentioned this work of art here after a week yet. This beast manages to exceed all expectations and crush its own hype; with a more complicated board and scenarioS to play around with than Kichikuou Rance, an improved mix of the Kichikuou Rance and Dai combat system while leaning towards Kichikuou Rance's, and a difficulty that shouts out to Alicesoft's old skool challenging as hell instead of their newer easy-as-pie, this got to be Alicesoft's best-est game.

God, can't believe no one mentioned this work of art here after a week yet. This beast manages to exceed all expectations and crush its own hype; with a more complicated board and scenarioS to play around with than Kichikuou Rance, an improved mix of the Kichikuou Rance and Dai combat system while leaning towards Kichikuou Rance's, and a difficulty that shouts out to Alicesoft's old skool challenging as hell instead of their newer easy-as-pie, this got to be Alicesoft's best-est game.

The game's getting a lot of praises for living up to its hype, so I'm sure it's a good game in many ways. Personally, I'm not much of a fan for kichiku games though. ^^;

In various ways, the scenario itself was better constructed than Sumika's route, although it feels like there's less of a punch (whereas Sumika's story left a really strong sense of tension and crisis), maybe because Misaki is such a bright character, it diluted what sense of conflict there was. I can see why reviews warned people against playing Misaki's route before Sumika's route as well, considering the spoilers from Misaki's story would've ruined Sumika's story. Overall, Misaki was a nice character, although Sumika still ranks higher for me. On the other hand, Misaki's scenario was nicely paced and laid out. The ending was pretty satisfying as well.

The problem really lies with our main character, Takizawa Tsukasa. This guy is your typical nice guy teacher who's a little timid.... on the surface. Once he gets close to a girl, though, a flurry of lewd thoughts begin to invade his head (which is still acceptable, since his reasonings are still sound). The worst part though, is how this guy is a total perv in bed. If only there was a selection point, I would've let Misaki's papa shoot this guy in the head.

Really, it's not that bad, but Tsukasa's almost 180 degree change in, er, attitude between regular daily life and H scenes was a little too hard to swallow.

Leaving branch school camp for now. I think I'll try out a home school route next. Shino sounds like a good candidate (I'm saving Miyabi~ for last ^^).

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Oh yeah, ef was released yesterday... I don't think I'll be getting it until I can finish Kanishino first though. ^^;

First impression: What the hell is Kyon doing in a goth noir eroge?
Really, everything from Romeo's ironic tone of voice, attitude, to his tendency to complain in paragraphs, they're practically twins. Although it really has nothing to do with the game itself, a must listen if you're interested. ^^;

I find Anna-chan adorable as well,
as I'm weak against natural bokes, I guess. ^^; Especially if I know there's more to their story than meets the eye.

The trial version itself was quite nice as well, as the story revolved around one specific suspense and managed to keep the tension up all the way to the end.

Romeo's overwhelming coolness in the end there made me laugh out loud though.

Normally, I'd avoid overly hard-boiled games such as this, but so far, I find the characters and the story itself to be quite enjoyable. Besides, with Kyo, I mean Romeo around as the main character, I don't think I'll get too bored.

My copy of -ef- just arrived. Color me stunned! I won't be able to play the actual game until after the Christmas craziness has ended in my house, but the packaging is absolutely ravishing. I had no idea that it was going to come with a box for both the first tale and the latter tale. (even my little sister, who isn't into anime or games at all, agrees that the box is gorgeous!) The packaging for the game disc is sturdy and attractive as well. Just looking at this thing would be enough to make anyone with collector's instincts drool.

My copy of -ef- just arrived. Color me stunned! I won't be able to play the actual game until after the Christmas craziness has ended in my house, but the packaging is absolutely ravishing. I had no idea that it was going to come with a box for both the first tale and the latter tale. (even my little sister, who isn't into anime or games at all, agrees that the box is gorgeous!) The packaging for the game disc is sturdy and attractive as well. Just looking at this thing would be enough to make anyone with collector's instincts drool.

Do you have a camera by any chance? I was going to save ordering it until after christmas (too busy with Ys Origin right now, then a few christmas games) buuut...

Ugh, I envy you guys. A friend from Japan is shipping ef - the first tale out to me tomorrow. Bless him. Meaning I'll be playing ef after new year. I also decided to finally buy a copy of Kanon ~Standard Edition~. January is going to be a lot of fun, I can tell.